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Freefall
"Freefall" is the seventeenth episode of Miami Vice's fifth season, and the Series Finale. The episode premiered on May 21, 1989. Summary Crockett & Tubbs are assigned to bring a Central American dictator into the US, in what could be their final assignment. Plot In riot-torn Costa Morada, General Manuel Borbon (Ian McShane) is speaking with reporters about his regime and the riots, but answers with indifference and denies rumors he's leaving the country, before leaving with his aide-de-camp, Captain Jimindez (Rene Rivera). Meanwhile Caesar Montoya (Alfredo Alvarez Calderon), the head of the drug cartel there, goes to see a Borbon aide named Guzman who had $2 million of Borbon's money, and after some roughing up admits the money is going to the US. While Borbon & Jimindez talk about getting the general out, they receive a "gift" from Montoya - a coffin with Guzman's body in it, and a note that the coffin is the only way he'll get out of the country. In Miami, Crockett & Tubbs are waiting for Ramon, a "two-bit gangster" completing a drug deal. When he comes out, a car chase ensues, but two large black vehicles cut Crockett & Tubbs off. The occupants come out, frisk them, and take them away. The Vice cops are led to a darkened room, which lights up to reveal a group of people led by Colonel Andrew Baker (Sherman Howard) of the Special Drug Enforcement Task Force. Chief Richard Highsmith (Robert Fields) is brought in as well (in a similar manner to Crockett & Tubbs) and the three are given their "unofficial" mission: To bring Borbon back to the US, because he can provide "valuable information" to the government in bringing down the Medellin cartel in Costa Morada, helping to stop the flow of drugs into Miami. They want Borbon out before his country plunges into full-fledged revolution, and they will provide a contact with weapons to aid them. Crockett & Tubbs were "recommended" by Ramon (who's working with the government in exchange for a free walk on his charges) for their knowledge of undercover work, their experience with Latin American drug dealers and their integrity. Crockett & Tubbs are disgusted with the situation and leave. While Switek phones in a bet at a payphone, Crockett meets Tubbs at Raoul's, where Tubbs muses that Borbon can bring important information to help curb the drug flow and that, for the first time, the Vice cops can make a difference. Crockett, cynical about all of this and feeling the mission is suicide, nevertheless agrees to work with his partner. They head to Costa Morada and have trouble with customs, but a man named Ramirez, who claims he's with the Bureau of Tourism, steps up and solves their Customs problem, and they ride with him to meet their contact. Montoya wants Jimindez to kill Borbon, Crockett and Tubbs to prevent the general from spilling his guts to DEA, and threatens Jimindez's family if he doesn't comply (despite Jimindez' closeness to Borbon). Ramirez stops in front of a building (with a crowd of angry demonstrators in the street) for Crockett and Tubbs to head inside and meet their contact. After a rock is thrown through the car, they spot Ramirez running away, and the Vice cops bolt from the car just before it explodes. Suddenly, another car shows up with a woman named Felicia (Elpidia Carillo), who says she's their contact, and they speed away. Borbon's finance minister speaks to the general about the money he's taking from the treasury. Borbon says the minister is as corrupt as he claims the general is, then calmly shoots him down. Felicia said Borbon will be ready to leave the following night, but Crockett feels that, due to the rioting, the general needs to get out that night. Felicia will set up a meet with his contact that night at El Coyote, which Crockett will attend, while Tubbs goes with Felicia to explore the escape route. Tubbs asks her why she is fighting to get Borbon out of the country. She feels that getting him out will help the country heal. Crockett goes to El Coyote where he meets Bianca (Maria Strova), the general's daughter, and Jimindez, who is shaken when Crockett suggests moving Borbon's departure to tonight but agrees to do so. Bianca is holding a party with several VIP's; during the movie that will be shown they will have an opportunity to escape, and Jimindez gives them a map of the palace's location. Tubbs & Felicia find they're fighting the same things --drugs, gangs, and poverty-- and that Tubbs misses New York. Crockett fills Tubbs in on his meet with Jimindez & Bianca, while the rebel forces are bringing in wounded from the battlefield and Felicia is attending to them; Tubbs realizes she's a nun. Crockett reviews the plans and can find no flaw, but is concerned about Jimindez' reaction to his moving up the date to today. They make preparations for the evening. Bianca overhears Jimindez' real plan: to kill her father, Crockett & Tubbs. She visits the captain and lets him know what she heard, and he makes her stay in his room while he goes forward with his plans. Meanwhile the operation to get Borbon out is underway, and he leaves during the movie. Jimindez is stopped by Crockett, who lets the general know his aide-de-camp works for Montoya, and when Bianca arrives to back up their story, Tubbs shoots Jimindez and they escape into their waiting truck. Montoya's men shoot Borbon in the arm and kill Felicia, but they manage to escape. On the boat heading back to Miami, they fix up Borbon's wound and decide to bypass Baker's seaplane and hide Borbon themselves. Bianca thanks Crockett for saving her father's life. Baker & Highsmith meet near the waterway and Highsmith lets Baker know about rumors of Colombian hit teams heading to Miami to get himself and Borbon, but Baker is unconcerned. They plan to stash Borbon in a safehouse, and when Highsmith says he wants them out to prevent a bloodbath, Baker threatens to use his connections to ruin the Chief's political aspirations. Baker demands to know why Crockett & Tubbs haven't brought Borbon to their seaplane. Crockett says they were set up and Borbon took a bullet to prove it, so they have the general stashed in their own safe house, and plan to keep him there until Baker can straighten out his organization. Baker threatens to put them out permanently if anything happens to Borbon; Crockett suggests he check out Ramon for a leak. Meanwhile, Montoya arrives in Miami, and Borbon is unhappy about his set up. That night, Montoya's men hit the safe house (which no one knows about except the Vice team), killing all the Colombians, but Borbon is nowhere to be found. Bianca is shaken up over the shooting, and says her father made a call that afternoon, but didn't know who it was to. She tells Crockett about money drawn from a Miami bank that was sent to her in Switzerland. Switek gets a visit from Montoya, saying he bought his gambling debts and wants information about Borbon. Gina calls Crockett about a courier picking up $50,000 out of a bank and they see a woman (Anna Katarina) leaving with the money. Crockett & Tubbs follow them, finding him in Little Havana before more hitmen bust in and the Vice duo kills them all. At OCB, Castillo calls Switek into his office and asks him if he knew anything about the hit, expressing concern about his gambling habit making him vulnerable (and the fact that he didn't ask Switek about it previously). Switek is adamant he didn't give up his partners or any info about the hit, but Castillo suspends him indefinitely pending further investigation to avoid any possibility of him leaking anything. Montoya, acting on a tip from Switek, stops at a waterfront building with a group of men looking for Borbon, but what they get is Switek on video letting them know about his situation, that he has nothing to lose, and that the building will explode in 10 seconds. It doesn't, but when they run out Switek shoots all of Montoya's men down. Crockett & Tubbs go to see Izzy, whose "clothing-optional" cabana scam is going strong. Izzy tells them Johnny Miranda is recruiting for Montoya by offering "bust insurance". Tubbs goes to see Miranda while Crockett goes to see Borbon's accountant (who Borbon called at the safe house just before the hit). At Miranda's place, Tubbs gets rough before Montoya shows up. Crockett is at OCB where Trudy gets the file on Borbon's accountant. Crockett gets a call from Tubbs in obvious distress before Montoya gets on, saying he has 12 hours to deliver Borbon or Tubbs is dead. Crockett stops by Highsmith's house, letting him know about his phone call and demanding to know where Tubbs is. He talks about his conversation with Max Flynn, Highsmith's (and Borbon's) accountant, who sold Borbon out to Montoya and Highsmith to Borbon. He has a detailed record of Montoya's payments to the Chief. Crockett wonders how the voting public can accept that a public servant makes $80,000/yr and has luxury homes and cars. Highsmith goes for a gun and Crockett stops him, then lets the Chief know that if he doesn't give up Tubbs Crockett will kill him. Tubbs is in a trailer, surrounded by Montoya & his men. Highsmith appears, wanting Montoya to bring Tubbs outside so he can trade for Borbon. Crockett shoots the man with Tubbs, but Montoya shoots Highsmith. In the ensuing gunfight Crockett gets Tubbs out, while SRT arrives and kills everyone inside, including Montoya, and disintegrates the trailer. Crockett & Tubbs take Borbon to the Feds, but are stopped at a roadblock and Ramon (playing both sides of the street) takes Borbon, shoots him down, and takes the body with him, saying the cartel will pay him for the General, dead or alive. Borbon's body is found later in a ravine, "charred worse than Gina's meatloaf", but Crockett reads the autopsy report and finds the gunshot wound wasn't reported, and the coroner listed on the report didn't even perform the autopsy. Crockett & Tubbs bust in on Borbon's room and find his fiancee drowning in alcohol, saying he left her at the altar, and that Baker was behind everything, including hiring Ramon, faking Borbon's death and paying off the coroner's assistant for the fake autopsy. Borbon has dirt on someone very high up in the government. Crockett & Tubbs realize they have been "dropped in the trick bag." They find out where the Feds have Borbon stashed, knowing it will be the end of their careers. Crockett & Tubbs arm up and head out to get Borbon, who's boarding a seaplane surrounded by agents. The seaplane takes off just as Crockett & Tubbs arrive and storm through the shooters. Tubbs is hit but continues on, and they blow the plane out of the sky, killing Borbon and everyone on board. The next morning an infuriated Baker shows up with his men, talking politics and covering up when things go wrong, how he has carte blanche for anything that happens, and considers shooting Crockett & Tubbs and pinning it on Borbon. Crockett challenges him to do it and they start to walk away. Baker says he will have their badges for what happened, and a burned out Crockett & Tubbs throw down their badges in disgust and quit the force, despite Castillo's pleas to reconsider. Crockett leaves the St. Vitus Dance for the final time, then Tubbs stops in a cab, they reminisice about their five-year run together, discuss their future plans, and Crockett takes Tubbs to the airport, in his "stolen" Testarossa. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Ian McShane as General Manuel Borbon *Robert Beltran as Amandez *Sherman Howard as Colonel Andrew Baker *Greg Germann as Johnny Raymond *Elpidia Carillo as Felicia *Maria Strova as Bianca Borbon *Rene Rivera as Captain Jimindez *Alfredo Alvarez Calderon as Ceasar Montoya *Robert Fields as Police Commissioner Richard Highsmith *Anna Katarina as Borbon's Fiancee *Martin Ferrero as Izzy Moreno Co-Starring *Bill Cordell as Policeman *Xavier Coronel as Ramirez *Roy Datz as Priest *Sergio Dore as Immigration Man *Tamara Glynn as Young Woman *Pamela M. Stuart and Peter Lundquist as Reporters *Linda McNeill as Clerk *Roger Pretto as Miranda *Don Rincones as Finance Minister *Bobby Rodriguez as Guzman *Raul San and Andrew Castillo as Thugs Notes *The series finale, just like the pilot "Brother's Keeper", aired on Sunday night. After the finale, NBC would air three "lost episodes" in June on Wednesday nights to finish out the network run. The fourth "lost episode", "Too Much, Too Late", would not be aired until January of 1990 on USA Network, on a Thursday night. *''Miami Vice'' was one of the first shows to have a "Series Finale". Most shows of that era just quietly ended when they were cancelled, but when the classic show M*A*S*H's series finale became the top-rated show of all time in 1983, the networks decided to start providing a definite "end" to a series, especially one as popular as Vice. *The story is loosely based on the "ripped from the headlines" goings-on of Manuel Noriega, military leader of Panama, who was ousted by the US military in 1990 amidst charges of drug dealing and corruption. *When Crockett & Tubbs arrive in Costa Morada Tim Truman's song "No Way Out" is heard, with vocals by Don Johnson. *The scene involving Switek placing a bet from a payphone was not originally part of this episode; it was included in "Too Much, Too Late". However, as NBC never broadcast that episode due to it's controversial content, the scene was moved to the series finale to help explain why Montoya is able to exert influence over Switek. *Some of the riot scenes from Costa Morada look like they came from news stock footage of similar events in Central America, while the stock footage used in the firefights originates from "Stone's War". *When "Freefall" is aired in syndication, it is a two-part episode, just like the pilot "Brother's Keeper" and the Season 2 opener "The Prodigal Son". When aired in this manner, Part II begins after Borbon disappears from the Safe House after the attempted hit by Montoya's hit squad. *Crockett tries the coin toss on Tubbs (which he's won every time), but Tubbs catches the coin and decides where he's going, but still ends up losing as he is captured by Montoya. *We see the sign outside the doors of OCB and what it says: Organized Crime Bureau, Strategic Intelligence, Tactical Intelligence, Vice/Narcotics. *The scenes of Crockett & Tubbs heading out in the night for their final showdown to the music of "Bad Attitude" is reminiscent of their iconic scene in the pilot "Brother's Keeper" to "In The Air Tonight". It also resembles the scene in "Stone's War" which first showed off the Testarossa's speed, where Crockett and Stone were being chased through the Miami streets to "When The Rain Comes Down". *Castillo gives his final "staredown of doom" to Crockett & Tubbs for quitting the force. *Don Johnson is wearing a University of Kansas shirt under his sportcoat in the final scene. Johnson attended the school in his younger days. *The closing credits are in orange font instead of the usual white, and shows clips of the past five years of Miami Vice instead of the usual Miami stock landmark footage. *Strangely, despite the fact Tubbs is clearly shown loading up his Ithaca Stakeout, as well as his Smith & Wesson Model 38 prior to the final confrontation with Borbon, he never uses either in the subsequent shootout, opting instead top use two Sig Sauer P226s he brings back from Costa Morada. *We see Crockett use a shotgun, the Armsel Striker he uses in the final gunfight, for the first time. We also see him use a conventional rifle, a Remington 700, when rescuing Tubbs from Montoya. *We also see that Crockett loads his Smith & Wesson Model 4506 with FEDERAL 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Points. *Although the four lost episodes technically take place before this episode, they appear after the series finale on the recent DVD releases. Similarly, the scene where Switek places the bet at the payphone was not removed from the series finale, and as a result it appears twice, once here and once where it originally belonged in "Too Much, Too Late". Music *"Year Zero" by King Swamp (Car chase involving Crockett & Ramon) *"Cryin' Shame" by Lyle Lovett (Crockett & Tubbs in Raoul's) *"No Way Out" by Don Johnson & Tim Truman (Crockett & Tubbs arrive in Costa Morada) *"Bugle Call Rag" by Glenn Miller Orchestra (Playing in movie) *"Ship of Fools" by Robert Plant (Returning from Costa Morada) *"Land of Confusion" by Genesis (Switek's encounter with Montoya & Crockett & Tubbs follow woman from bank) *"Bad Attitude" by Honeymoon Suite (Showdown scene) *"Tell Me" by Terry Kath (End titles with scenes from series) Final Scene thumb|300px|right|"Freefall" final scene Crockett: "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be halfway to New York by now." Tubbs: "Everything always takes longer than you think." Crockett: "Well, we had one hell of a run, didn't we, partner?" Tubbs: "Yeah, we sure did, Sonny." Crockett: "So, you really gonna go back up to the big bad Bronx?" Tubbs: "Yeah, it looks that way. How about you?" Crockett: "I don't know, somewhere further south, where the water's warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players. I'm gonna miss you, man." Tubbs: "I'm gonna miss you too, Sonny." Crockett: "Can I give you a ride to the airport, in my stolen car?" Tubbs: "Why not?" Crockett: (from "Brother's Keeper")" Hey, Tubbs, you ever consider a career in Southern law enforcement?" Tubbs: "Maybe, maybe!" Final Montage *Daytona shot overhead- "Yankee Dollar" *Daytona speeding through night- stock footage used in "Heart of Darkness and Calderone's Return I" *Car chase scene- "Brother's Keeper" *Castillo briefing- "Glades" *Gina & Trudy stakeout- "Whatever Works" *Castillo sitting- "Borrasca" *Switek & Zito drawing guns- "Little Prince" *Crockett draws gun on Switek- "Glades" *Switek on stage- "Give A Little, Take A Little" *Zito kisses bowl- "Made for Each Other" *Elvis footage- "Made for Each Other" *Switek in Wheelchair- "Made for Each Other" *Castillo in Daytona- "The Home Invaders" *Castillo at Home- "Golden Triangle Pt 2" *Crockett's Dream- "Redemption in Blood" *Indignant Trudy - "Hell Hath No Fury" *Gina with projector- "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" *Strung out Trudy- "Little Prince" *Gina & Trudy dressing room- "Give A Little, Take A Little" *Crockett & Tubbs running- "Whatever Works" *Tubbs shooting shotgun- "Prodigal Son" *Crockett shooting submachine gun- "Calderone's Demise" *Gina firing- "Little Prince" *Castillo firing- "The Home Invaders" *Crockett shooting- "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" *Switek shooting- "Line of Fire" *Trudy shooting- "Hell Hath No Fury" *Crockett shooting- "A Bullet for Crockett" Quotes *"Yeah, social life in the 80's, isn't it a kick?" -- Tubbs to Crockett *"General, wha -- what are you doing?" "Electing a new finance minister!" (fires gun) -- Borbon's response to accusations of financial impropriety by Costa Morada's finance minister *"Get cable, it's cheaper." -- Tubbs advice to a woman about to fall prey to one of Izzy's scams involving spiritual "channelling" *"I have these very important friends in the national GOP, and if you want to run for anything more prestigious than dog catcher, you're gonna need their help!" -- Baker to Highsmith *"If you don't tell me where they have my partner, I'm going to turn that pretty wall into an expressionist painting!" -- Crockett to Highsmith *"Do it, if you've got the stones!" -- Crockett to Baker after Baker threatens to shoot him & Tubbs and pin it on Borbon Category:Miami Vice Season 5 Episodes